School A-F grading under fire

Last November, the state Department of Education released its first ever school accountability report card that assigned a letter grade to every public school in the state. The A through F grades were based on several measures of performance including standardized test scores (the most important), student improvement, attendance, graduation rates and post-secondary readiness.

State School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano and several key members of the state Board of Education (including board president Mike Green) are big supporters of the system. Martirano said at the time, “Under this new system, schools will be held accountable for what is considered their core mission—increasing student achievement.”

The pushback from the two teacher unions and a number of school administrators has been intense. West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee has said, “I really doubt the measurements. I think it’s too strongly based on test scores. It’s based too much on a snapshot in time.”

The Smarter Balanced standardized tests are a legitimate concern, primarily because the results don’t count toward a student’s grade. The time-on-test figures show many students aren’t doing their best because they know they have no skin in the game.

Martirano and the State Board get that, which is why they have proposed replacing Smarter Balanced with end-of-course exams that would count toward a student’s grade and be used to assess how the school is doing for the A through F grade.

However, new Governor Jim Justice is evidently not in favor of the school letter grade system. “We have to worry about our kids getting A through F instead of our schools getting A through F,” Justice said.  I’m told by a Justice official that the Governor wants school accountability, but believes there are better ways than assigning letter grades.

This is a potentially divisive issue between Justice and the State Board, which strongly supports the letter grade accountability system.  The Board is a largely autonomous body, and is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government.

Constitutionally, it is responsible for the “general supervision” of public schools, but Article XII also says the Board “shall perform such duties as prescribed by law,” which suggests oversight by the Legislative and Executive branches.

Additionally, there are two vacancies on the nine-member board, which Governor Justice can fill with appointees aligned with his thinking.

However, if there is general agreement on the need for school accountability, all sides should be able to work out a system that is rigorous, includes test results and provides parents with a meaningful way to know how their children’s schools are performing.

Until then, stick with the A through F system.

ALSO READ: State leaders might follow new Gov. Jim Justice’s lead on reforming A to F system for WV schools

 





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